Shutdown delays open data deadlines, raises API questions

By Adam Mazmanian

Nov 01, 2013

Agencies now have until Nov. 30 to comply with the first wave of deliverables in President Barack Obama's open data order from May. The original Nov. 1 deadline was pushed back to accommodate delays arising from the partial government shutdown.

Despite the delay, agencies are on track to meet the administration goals, federal CIO Steve VanRoekel told reporters at the ACT-IAC Executive Leadership Conference on Oct. 29 in Williamsburg, Va.

The first round of deliverables includes an inventory and public listing of all agency data, processes for managing data, designating departments and individuals with responsibility for data release, priorities for data release, and documenting data that cannot be released. The goal is for agencies to manage federal data as a strategic public asset, which can be leveraged by private-sector enterprises for business purposes. One famous example is Global Positioning System data, which gave rise to an industry in personal navigation devices, but there are other kinds of data that could be ripe for exploitation if they were released in usable formats.

U.S. Census data is used to provide a deep demographic dive into neighborhoods by online real estate services Zillow and Trulia. The Energy Department facilitates the distribution of energy pricing data from utilities nationwide through its Green Button program, which allows people to track energy costs. There are also datasets on vehicle fuel economy and data on the energy use of appliances rated under the EnergyStar program. Many agencies are releasing data as application programming interfaces (APIs) that can be plugged into online services and mobile applications and make calls on government databases for specific information.

During the shutdown, however, most of these datasets and APIs were shut off. Weather data and other information deemed essential to life and property were kept online. But as businesses increasingly tap into government data as a resource, there might need to be changes in the priority put on maintaining access under all conditions.

"As private sector companies rely on government data, I think making them available and essential out of the context of a government shutdown will be something we have to think about," VanRoekel told FCW. While he was careful not to comment on the statute that applies to government shutdowns, it's clear that the administration is looking to have government data play a more essential role in the economy.

Robert Bectel, chief technology officer for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is also excited about products that could be built out of his agency's data. And he sees the hazards of limiting access to that data in situations like the recent budget standoff.

"If the agency builds a product, markets it and puts it out there, it's incumbent on us to support it. If we're turned off, we've got a problem," Bectel said.

The issue of suspended APIs did not affect the biggest users of government data during the shutdown, as they typically download whole datasets and maintain them on their own servers.

"In many cases we don't want them to hook into government APIs because we don't have the resources to manage their load," VanRoekel said. "I think there's a balancing act to make sure we're providing uptime [for commercial users of government data], much in the same way weather and GPS are provided in real time," he said.

Even though the deadline for the first round of open data deliverables was delayed, the government is still pushing ahead with its next round of initiatives. In a new policy document timed to coincide with the Open Government Partnership annual summit in London, the government announced planned improvements to the Data.gov website that is the main repository for open data, as well as dedicated efforts in the areas of nutritional, agricultural and disaster-relief data. The effort also includes plans to harmonize Freedom of Information Act regulations and practices across agencies, and to develop a tool for requestors of government information, such as journalists and watchdog groups, to submit requests through a single, consolidated portal.

About the Author

Adam Mazmanian is executive editor of FCW.

Before joining the editing team, Mazmanian was an FCW staff writer covering Congress, government-wide technology policy, health IT and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to joining FCW, Mr. Mazmanian was technology correspondent for National Journal and served in a variety of editorial at B2B news service SmartBrief. Mazmanian started his career as an arts reporter and critic, and has contributed reviews and articles to the Washington Post, the Washington City Paper, Newsday, Architect magazine, and other publications. He was an editorial assistant and staff writer at the now-defunct New York Press and arts editor at the About.com online network in the 1990s, and was a weekly contributor of music and film reviews to the Washington Times from 2007 to 2014.

Reader comments

Mon, Nov 4, 2013
OccupyIT

While there were some real impacts from the shutdown this particular issue is being used as a political football. Data systems and websites were 'shut down' but only as a stick in the eye to Congress. Ever wonder what it takes to run a 'This site is closed due to lack of funding by Congress' web page while retaining the ability to turn things back on in an instant? Ask a contractor that was forced to put this up - it costs the same amount. Unfortunately, in many cases we didn't even pay them for it... I think more money was lost coordinating the 'make them feel the pain' campaign then was 'saved' by not shutting down data systems. That's what many Feds were doing in the weeks leading up to the shutdown - the real reason anything is now allowed to be considered 'delayed'. You don't think the direct hires do the IT work, do you? Ask healthcare.gov. If something is 'late' now its because it was 'late' already. But apparently people will believe anything - like expanding benefits and coverage will decrease your individual cost.

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